The Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers Breast Oncology Program at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) provides state-of-the-art care for breast cancer patients. Our breast cancer clinicians are committed to providing you with the best and most individualized treatment options available, taking advantage of the full range of services of a top-ranked cancer hospital and research center.
About the Center
Our team of breast cancer experts at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers Breast Oncology Program includes breast cancer surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists who have pioneered the most effective techniques in breast cancer treatment.
There is no "one size fits all" treatment for breast cancer – we create personalized treatment plans based on your individual needs and the genetic make-up of your particular cancer.
Find out about our experience and approach to diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
We also offer a variety of focused programs with special expertise:
A team of experts, led by Beth Overmoyer, MD, specializes in treating inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare but aggressive form of breast cancer. Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cancer Center hosts the only program in the Northeast focused solely on IBC.
Young women (in their early 40s and younger) with breast cancer face particular challenges and need different resources. Combining treatment, research, and specialized support services, our Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer, led by Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, is one of the few programs in the country designed to meet the needs of young women faced with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Every year in the United States, one in 3,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy. Our clinicians at the Breast Cancer during Pregnancy Program, led by Erica Mayer, MD, MPH, are leaders in achieving healthy outcomes for pregnant women with breast cancer and their babies. The team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected breast cancer oncologists and maternal-fetal specialists in Obstetrics/Gynecology.
If you or your doctor thinks you are at high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program, led by Dr. Judy Garber, MD, MPH, will create a personalized program to estimate your risk as accurately as possible and work with you and your clinical team to lower your risk as much as possible.
Breast cancer is often thought of as a disease that affects only women, but men can be diagnosed with breast cancer, too. Our Male Breast Cancer Program, led by Kathryn Ruddy, MD, MPH, is dedicated to the unique needs of men. Our specialists will work with you to develop a treatment plan that supports your medical and emotional needs.
Our Breast Cancer Specialists
At Dana-Farber/Brigham and Woman's Cancer Center’s Breast Oncology Program, our multi-disciplinary team works closely with patients, providing the resources and close cooperation of many specialists with deep expertise in diagnosing and treating breast cancer. Our physician-scientists are also researching and developing new and effective treatments for breast cancer, including clinical trials.
Having representatives from medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology working together to coordinate your care ensures that all feasible approaches to treatment will be considered, and that you will receive the combination of treatments that is best for you.
Administrative Leadership
Dirk Iglehart, MD, Director of the Women's Cancers Program
Eric Winer, MD, Director of the Breast Oncology Program
Judy Garber, MD, MPH, Director, Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program
Mehra Golshan, MD, Director of Breast Surgical Services
Nancy Lin, MD, Clinical Director, Breast Oncology Program
Jay Harris, MD, Chair of Radiation Oncology
Medical Oncology
Craig Bunnell, MD, MPH
Harold Burstein, MD, PhD
Wendy Chen, MD, MPH
Rachel Freedman, MD, MPH
Judy Garber, MD, MPH
Michael Hassett, MD
Ian Krop, MD, PhD
Jennifer Ligibel, MD
Nancy Lin, MD
Erica Mayer, MD, MPH
Susan Moody, MD, PhD
Daniel Morganstern, MD
Beth Overmoyer, MD
Leroy Parker, MD
Ann Partridge, MD
Kathryn Ruddy, MD, MPH
Rochelle Scheib, MD
Lawrence Shulman, MD
Daniel P. Silver, MD, PhD
Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH
Eric Winer, MD
Rachel L. Yung, MD
Radiation Oncology
Jennifer Bellon, MD
Jay Harris, MD
Susan M. Pierce, MD
Rinaa S. Punglia, MD, MPH
Julia Wong, MD
Psychiatry
Susan Block, MD
Surgical Oncology
Katherina Zabicki Calvillo, MD, FACS
Katharine Carter, MD
Roger Christian, MD
Laura Dominici, MD
Margaret Duggan, MD
Mehra Golshan, MD
Dirk Iglehart, MD
Faina Nakhlis, MD
Esther Rhei, MD
Susan Troyan, MD
Nurse Practitioners
Christine Agius, NP
Anne Kelly, RN, NP
Georgia Litsas, NP
Jennifer McKenna, NP
Holly O'Kane, NP
Karen Pollard, NP
Elahe Salehi, NP
Karen Schulte, NP
Physician Assistant
Danielle Bowers
Nurses
Erin Hagemeister, RN
Margaret Haldoupis, RN
Judith Hirshfield-Bartek, RN
Elizabeth Kasparian, RN
Mary O'Driscoll, RN
Kathleen Roche, RN
Myra St. Amand, RN
Social Work
Rachel Allende, LICSW (Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking patients)
Elizabeth Farrell, LCSW
Patricia Kartiganer, LICSW
Shivani Kaushik, MSW (Inpatient)
Julie Salinger, LCSW
Breast Cancer Clinical Research
We believe outstanding clinical care is directly linked to an active program of clinical research. Our physician-scientists take the questions that arise in their clinical practices, answer them through clinical trials, and take this new knowledge back to the clinic where it can immediately benefit patients.
Breast cancer investigators are tackling cancer on multiple fronts, including triple-negative breast cancers, HER2-positive breast tumors that have become resistant to Herceptin, and targeted therapies for metastatic breast cancer.
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center’s Breast Oncology Program provides breast cancer patients access to more than 40 clinical trials at a time — many of which are changing the standard of care worldwide and are not available elsewhere. Our clinical trials focus on the types and phases of your disease so therapy can be targeted to your type of breast cancer.
Search
Clinical trials for early stage breast cancer
Clinical trials for metastatic breast cancer
Clinical trials for breast cancer prevention
What distinguishes Dana-Farber research
Dana-Farber remains true to Dr. Sidney Farber's vision of a cancer center as dedicated to discoveries in cancer research as it is to delivering compassionate, patient-centered care. Through strategic investment in research, we support scientific leaders and young investigators, acquire technology at the leading edge of cancer research, and ensure a spirit of collaboration and innovation.
- Dana-Farber scientists are among the leading recipients of National Cancer Institute research grants, on a per-faculty-member basis, in the United States.
- The pioneering efforts of our scientists are supported by more than $15 million in funds each year.
- Our investigators lead close to 700 trials of potential therapies – studies that involve approximately 4,000 patients.
- As one of the largest consortiums of cancer clinical research in the United States, Dana-Farber and its partners — collectively known as the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center — are able to offer an exceptional range of trials covering all major forms of cancer and a wide array of rarer forms.
Read about our recent Breast Cancer Research Advances
Contact Us
New patients
If you have never been seen before at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, please call 877-442-3324 or use this online form to make an appointment.
Referring physicians: 617-632-2175
For all other inquiries, please call 617-632-3800.
Fax: 617-632-3715
Mailing address
Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers
Breast Oncology Program
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Breast cancer care at satellite centers
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in clinical affiliation with South Shore Hospital
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center at Milford Regional Medical Center
Dana-Farber/New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology (second opinions only)